海角大神

Pageantry and sport do not guarantee global good feeling. But in tough times in the past, the ideals of the Olympics have helped buoy a weary world. Could it happen again in Paris?

鈥� Climate activists disrupt flights:聽Germany鈥檚 busiest airport cancels more than 100 flights as environmental activists launch a coordinated effort to disrupt air travel across Europe to highlight the climate change threat.
鈥⒙�Melania Trump memoir:聽Former first lady Melania Trump has a memoir coming out this fall, 鈥淢elania,鈥� billed as 鈥渁 powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.鈥�
鈥� Southwest to assign seats:聽Southwest Airlines聽plans to drop its tradition of more than 50 years and start assigning seats and selling premium seating for customers who want more legroom.

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Every four years an Olympic host city participates in a ritual of perseverance 鈥� with locals and tourists valiantly navigating their environs.聽In Paris, how has a focus on sustainability affected venue locations?

The room was crowded, but President Joe Biden鈥檚 tone was quiet and solemn. His address to the nation sealed his historic exit from the presidential race, while describing the coming election as vital for democracy.

Joe Biden鈥檚 withdrawal from the presidential race marks the end of an era. He is the last U.S. leader to believe so viscerally in America鈥檚 vision of its central place in the world.

In an election that could come down to a handful of battlegrounds, a running mate who could deliver their home state would be of enormous value.

Despite what feels like a constant flow of bad news these days, a majority around the world say they feel well rested and joyful. And young people are the most positive of all.

It may be the world鈥檚 worst hunger crisis. And the world鈥檚 largest displacement of civilians fleeing war. Yet in Africa鈥檚 third-largest country, Sudan, a 15-month-old conflict between two rival militaries has become something else.

It has become a model of how everyday people who were once strangers to each other can bond and band together during a war to build the kind of society they want after a war.

A key fact illustrates the point: Sudanese families have opened their homes to more than half of the people displaced by the war, according to the聽International Organization for Migration.

These host families have several reasons to provide food, shelter, and comfort to others who may be of different religions or ethnicities. For one, the front lines of the war keep moving, so anyone could suddenly be forced to flee.

Two, Sudan has a strong tradition 鈥� reflected in the Arabic word nafeer (meaning 鈥渁 call to come together鈥�) 鈥� of organizing local, voluntary responses to urgent needs, whether they be a harvest or a flood.

鈥淲e feel that any person in Sudan can go through this humiliation, so solidarity is our duty in order to relieve each other,鈥� one man told The New Humanitarian after opening his home to 40 people across six families.

Yet thirdly, Sudan has a new tradition that began during a popular uprising in 2019 that ousted a dictator but later led to the current military conflict.

Local pro-democracy groups that led the protests have repurposed themselves into youth-driven 鈥渆mergency response rooms.鈥� They provide charity kitchens, alternative schools, and other services for displaced people.

These activists are doing more than humanitarian work. They are 鈥渨orking towards a vision of Sudan that is peaceful, just and equitable,鈥� wrote Michelle D鈥橝rcy, Sudan country director for Norwegian People鈥檚 Aid.

In the midst of war, these groups are creating 鈥渢he kind of governance 鈥� democratic, equitable, people-centered 鈥� that Sudanese communities have long craved,鈥� said Samantha Power, the U.S. Agency for International Development鈥檚 administrator.

The war may soon end 鈥� peace talks are planned for mid-August in Switzerland. But Sudan鈥檚 democratic spirit and nafeer mobilization are already laying the groundwork for peace.